The Upper Subbasin drains approximately 68 square miles of the CalWater 2.2 Lake Prairie Hydrologic Area and includes the land and waterways from the confluence of Lupton Creek upstream to the headwaters of Redwood Creek. This subbasin has the highest relief and greatest proportion of natural prairies of all Redwood Creek subbasins. The predominant land use is timber production and rural developments. The Upper Subbasin has the most area of all the Redwood Creek Basin in small land ownerships. The Upper Subbasin includes the following Planning Watersheds:

Windy Creek

High Prairie Creek

Noisy Creek

Bradford Creek

Cloney Gulch

Twin Lakes Creek

Approximately 19 miles of mainstem, and 21 miles of blue line perennial tributary streams drain the subbasin. The Upper Subbasin supports populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead, and coastal cutthroat. It is unclear if coho salmon have ever spawned or reared in the Upper Subbasin.

Upper Subbasin Summary

Square Miles

67.72

Total Acreage

43,344

Private Acres

40,640

Federal Acres

2,240

State Acres

0

Principal Communities

None

Predominant Land Use

Timber production

Predominant Vegetation Type

Hardwoods/Douglas-fir forest

Miles of Anadromous Stream

23.0

Low Elevation (feet)

866

High Elevation (feet)

5,322

The Upper Subbasin provides important spawning grounds and year round rearing habitat for anadromous salmonids. High water temperature and a shortage of deep, complex pool habitat are factors limiting salmonid production in the mainstem Redwood Creek below Minon Creek. The lack of deep and complex pool habitat was also identified as a potential limiting factor in tributary streams.

The Upper Subbasin was severely affected by the combination of intensive land use activity and historical flood events in 1955, 1964, and 1997. The channel more than doubled in width and shade benefits of riparian vegetation and moderating air temperatures from near stream forests were lost, leading to increased water temperatures. Habitat impairments associated with channel widening and high stream temperature still adversely affect habitat suitability throughout much of the upper Redwood Creek mainstem.

While current habitat conditions differ from those of pre-management days, aspects of the upper mainstem appear to have recovered from the impacts of land management and floods. Much sediment has moved downstream, pools have re-formed and the channel substrate shows improved spawning suitability. However, excessive erosion continues to be a problem as the Upper Subbasin currently yields more suspended sediment to the mainstem of Redwood Creek than the Middle and Lower subbasins combined.